Valve cover bolt busted off. Need advice

First thanks for help with timing, I was indeed 1 tooth off on the
cam.

Now, while tighting the long valve cover bolt on the upper Right
corner..the damn thing broke off. I wasn’t even at 9foot pounds.
Anyway, the lower part of the bolt(the part with the threads) is stuck
inside the threaded part of case. Questions: 1) how can I get it out?
2) could I just RTV the bolt with cap on to the valve cover? Would the
remainder 4 bolts keep her from leaking? Thanks in advance. What
trouble..second time taking her apart to repalce timing belt,water
pump and tensioner.. get everything right, then this happens.

 

I would drill a hole into the centre of the broken piece of the bolt, and
use an extractor to remove the piece. Use some oil to help free the piece.

Brian

 

Hello,
I agree with what Brian told you. If you end up needing a new valve
cover--visit the largest junk yard in your area. Most of the larger junk
yards are now on a special database which simply means that all of them
are linked together. If they don't have a valve cover for your
vehicle--they can order one from one of the other junk yards.

 

This happened on TWO of the valve cover bolts on
my 98 civic. Really annoying.


First of all, take the valve cover off and see
if there is any part of the stud showing that
you might be able to grab onto with a plyer or
something.

Short of getting lucky that way, MAKE SURE you put rags or some sort of
cover over the valve
train to make sure no filings make it into your
valves and oil.

We got an 'Easy-Out' from the hardware store.
You put this bit into your cordless drill, and
apply as much pressure in reverse as possible at a 90
degree angle to the broken stud of the bolt.
Eventually, the bit grabs the stud, and it backs
out. It took about 2 minutes of constant
pressure and spinning to get one of them out.

Any questions, feel free to email me directly

loewent at gmail dot com

 

PS, by the way, YES, as a temporary measure,
you can RTV the hole in the valve cover, and
the rest should hold it in place well enough
to keep it from leaking.

 

As others have mentioned lubrication along with drilling and using an easy
out works well if you have the room. One of the best oils I have found for
seized parts is call "Kroil". I would highly recommend it.

 

Since it broke while tightening, it may not be very tight at all (it
probably broke before it bottomed). Try teasing it loose with a scribe or
punch, or chuck up a small piece of dowel in a reversible drill. If you can
get it out enough to grab with pliers you're home free.

The problem I've had with extractors is they like to walk to the edge and
bugger up the threads in the hole. Otherwise they are a godsend.

Mike

 

How tight was it going in. Was it crossthreaded? If so you may have to drill
it and install a Helicoil...

 

Thanks for the advice. I got it out yesterday with a screw extractor.
First I sprayed it with penatrating oil and let it sit over night.

 

I'm glad that you finally got it out. I bet that you worried about it
quite a lot. Now--you don't have to worry about it anymore.

 

Good deal! Glad to be of help.

Brian

 

For the future reference, how much did it fight you?

And, congratulations!!

Mike

 

It must not of been in that tight.

1)First I sprayed it with penatrating oil..let sit over night.

2) Next day, I slightly tapped it a few times with a sharp nail
driver/punch. This was to make a dimple in the center of the busted
off bolt. A guy at the hardware store said this would keep the bit
from "walking" to the sides and messing up the threads.

3) I drilled it down about this deep __ with a 5/64" drill bit. I
then attached the #1 screw extractor to a small T handled tap wrench.
Started twisting it slowly counterclockwise. It came out very easily.

One note: I covered the area the best I could to keep out small metal
shavings, that was the hardest part. It was windy out and a real pain
in the ass.

Again thanks everyone! Time to ride

 

For future reference, you can use a blob of grease (or shaving cream,
depending on which will cause less trouble where you are working) to control
the shavings. Put the blob on the area and drill through it. Our asbestos
abatement guys even use shaving cream for drilling asbestos-contailing floor
tiles!

Mike

 

Mike,
That appears to be good advice. I only wish that I had known that secret
when I once done backyard mechanical work on various types of cars.
Jason